Target illumination and sighting device with integrated non-lethal weaponry

Abstract

A weapon accessory integrates multiple illumination sources and a mechanism for dispensing a chemical irritant within a single housing for attachment as a fore grip to a firearm. The weapon accessory has selectable microprocessor-controlled multi-modes of operation for providing illumination, sighting or target debilitation. Switches on the outside of the housing enable user setting and control of the multiple modes of operation, which include one or a combination of (i) activating high intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate an object or human subject with either visible or infrared light, (ii) activating a visible or infrared laser for sighting a target, (iii) activating a frequency modulation mode that alternates pulsing white and blue LEDs at three superimposed frequencies to temporarily disable, distract and degrade the vision of a human subject, and (iv) activating the chemical irritant dispenser.

1. An illumination apparatus comprising:
 a plurality of illumination sources, wherein enabled illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources illuminate at different wavelengths; 
 a housing, wherein the housing further includes a forward portion carrying the plurality of illumination sources; 
 a controller, carried within the housing and coupled to the plurality of illumination sources, operable to selectively enable one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources, and wherein the controller is operable in a plurality of modes, each mode of the plurality of modes enabling for activation a selected one or more illumination sources comprising a subset of the plurality of illumination sources; 
 an activation device, carried by the housing and coupled to the plurality of illumination sources, operable by a user to activate illumination from one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources enabled for activation in a current mode of the controller from among the plurality of modes; 
 means for modulating enabled illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources at a plurality of frequencies in a selected mode of the controller from among the plurality of modes, wherein the plurality of frequencies are swept over a range of frequencies during illumination of the multiple enabled illumination sources; and 
 wherein the plurality of frequencies are between 7 Hz and 20 Hz, and wherein each of the plurality of frequencies is swept between 7 Hz and 20 Hz by one or more frequencies between 2 Hz and 6 Hz. 
 
     
     
       2. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources includes a light emitting diode. 
     
     
       3. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources includes an infrared light emitting diode. 
     
     
       4. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources is a laser. 
     
     
       5. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a hand grip suitable as a fore grip for a firearm when said housing is secured to the firearm. 
     
     
       6. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the activation device is a switch on the housing and operable by the user for alternatively turning on and off an enabled illumination source of the plurality of illumination sources. 
     
     
       7. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the current mode is selectable by the user. 
     
     
       8. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a safety mode of operation of the controller disables illumination from any of the plurality of illumination sources. 
     
     
       9. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing is adapted to be secured to a firearm. 
     
     
       10. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising modulating the plurality of frequencies by a series of high frequency pulses over 1000 Hz, wherein the plurality of frequencies are superimposed on the high frequency pulses. 
     
     
       11. The illumination apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the multiple enabled illumination sources are modulated out of phase from each other. 
     
     
       12. A firearm and illumination apparatus comprising:
 a firearm including a barrel; and 
 an illumination apparatus according to  claim 1  adapted to be attachable to the firearm. 
 
     
     
       13. A method of controlling an illumination apparatus comprising:
 selecting a particular mode of operation of a controller housed in the illumination apparatus from among a plurality of modes; 
 selectively enabling one or more illumination sources of a plurality of illumination sources within the illumination apparatus corresponding to the selected mode of operation, in response to the particular mode of operation of the controller being selected; and 
 activating illumination from the enabled one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources in response to a user input, wherein activating illumination includes modulating enabled one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources at a plurality of frequencies in the selected mode of operation of the controller from among the plurality of modes, wherein the plurality of frequencies are swept over a range of frequencies during illumination of the one or more enabled illumination sources, and wherein the plurality of frequencies are between 7 Hz and 20 Hz, and wherein each of the plurality of frequencies is swept between 7 Hz and 20 Hz by one or more frequencies between 2 Hz and 6 Hz. 
 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources includes a light emitting diode. 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources is an infrared light emitting diode. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination sources is a laser. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising frequency modulating illumination of the activated one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources in the selected mode of operation of the plurality of modes. 
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising enabling a non-lethal weapon carried by the illumination apparatus in response to selection of a selected mode of operation for the controller of the plurality of modes, and activating the non-lethal weapon in response to a user input. 
     
     
       19. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the step of selecting is performed by a user of the illumination apparatus. 
     
     
       20. The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising the step of disabling the plurality of illumination sources within the illumination apparatus, in response to a safety mode of operation of the controller being selected. 
     
     
       21. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein multiple enabled illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources illuminate at different wavelengths, and further comprising modulating the activated one or more illumination sources of the plurality of illumination sources at a plurality of frequencies in a selected mode of the controller from among the plurality of modes. 
     
     
       22. An illumination apparatus comprising:
 a housing; 
 an activation device carried by the housing that generates a signal indicating activation; 
 one or more illumination sources carried by the housing and operable by a user for illuminating a target; and 
 a controller, carried within the housing and coupled to the one or more illumination sources and the activation device for receiving the signal, for simultaneously modulating the one or more illumination sources at a plurality of frequencies in a selected mode of the controller, wherein the controller modulates the one or more illumination sources at a plurality of frequencies in a selected mode of operation of the controller from among a plurality of modes in response to the signal from the activation device, wherein the plurality of frequencies are swept over a range of frequencies during illumination of the one or more illumination sources, and wherein the plurality of frequencies are between 7 Hz and 20 Hz, and wherein each of the plurality of frequencies is swept between 7 Hz and 20 Hz by one or more frequencies between 2 Hz and 6 Hz. 
 
     
     
       23. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the illumination source includes multiple illumination sources that illuminate at different wavelengths in the selected mode of operation, and further wherein the multiple illumination sources are modulated at the plurality of frequencies in the selected mode of the controller. 
     
     
       24. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the controller is configured such that the selected mode is selectable by the user. 
     
     
       25. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the housing includes an activation device operable by a user for enabling the selected mode of the controller. 
     
     
       26. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein a safety mode of operation of the controller disables illumination of the one or more illumination sources. 
     
     
       27. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the illumination source includes a light emitting diode. 
     
     
       28. The illumination apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the housing is adapted to be secured to a firearm.